Ain’t Sayin’ Nothin’ New
An absolutely SHOCKING ending to Monday Night Raw!
— WWE (@WWE) July 29, 2025
Message. Sent. pic.twitter.com/yFfUJ5AEyt
There was a moment early this week when Paul Heyman introduced an interesting nugget into this feud between his crew and his former Bloodline family. Mr. Dangerously reminded Jey Uso that Roman Reigns picked Solo Sikoa as Tribal Chief in-waiting, not him. And that move didn’t exactly turn out well. Roman didn’t want Jey to leave the Bloodline and chase his solo goals. Jey, in fact, did those things in spite
of Roman’s initial protest.
None of that affected Jey but I wish it did if only to shake things up a bit. As of now, the build for SummerSlam, at least on the Raw side of the ledger, is predictable. To quote one of my Cageside bruvs, it’s creatively bankrupt.
Of course Paul E.’s words bounced off Jey like rain drops. Of course WWE advertised Roman Reigns for a show where he only appeared for the last 10 minutes or so. Of course the heels got the upper hand after Roman & Jey handed them their lunch last week. The only thing I didn't see coming was Bronson Reed running Roman’s kicks. I don’t know what size Roman wears but Bronson said they’re his size now.
The main event segment, which included a match between Bronson and Jey that ended in a DQ when Bron Breakker speared Jey, was indicative of a predictable and uninspiring Raw. I don’t like knowing what’s going to happen before it happens. Yes, pro wrestling works great when stories conclude logically and even sometimes giving the people what they want, but building matches shouldn’t feel so formulaic. Maybe this is what happens when there’s just too many shows and matches get locked in too late.
But that’s something WWE can control. If Seth Rollins is truly out for an extended period of time, that’s something they can’t control. While Seth’s status affected everything happening with his crew, Roman, Jey, and the Oracle, there’s still a way to infuse something that’s actually creative in the match. Playing the same notes because they worked many times in the past doesn’t make for the best television.
WWE’s biggest show of the summer is in a few days. They’re going to pack MetLife Stadium with enough fans to cause chaos on the New Jersey Turnpike. But the show itself can’t be the selling point. It feels like WWE is just going through the motions with the understanding that they’re too big to fail. That’s never a great place for any market leader, but even worse so when they’ve earned so much goodwill going against their standard grain.
Album Cuts
- AJ Styles finally got his hands on Dirty Dom. It came at the tail end of six-person tag match featuring AJ, Kairi Sane, & Asuka vs. Roxanne Perez, Raquel Rodriguez, & the aforementioned Dirty one. AJ and Dom briefly got involved as the match mostly centered around the Kabuki Warriors and the Tag Team champs. I didn’t mind watching the Kabuki Warriors finish the match with a slight upper hand on the champs, but I wish they held off on AJ even touching Dom. SummerSlam is in a few short days and part of the story is the cat and mouse between the two men. Showing the cat finally get his hand on the mouse at a big event would feel more fulfilling than watching him lay even a pinky finger on him. It also signaled, at least in my mind, that AJ isn’t defeating Dom.
- Grayson Waller thought the New Day were his friends because he apparently doesn’t watch the product. They ditched him earlier when he challenged Sheamus to a match (right after Shamus mentioned Big E). And they were nowhere near him when he took the L from the Irishman, despite Rusev running interference. Props to Waller for making me laugh when he tried to get the New Day chant going. That said, this match was all about the aftermath. Rusev got some revenge for that last match against Sheamus by hitting him with a shillelagh. Then he slapped him in the Accolade (GAME OVER!) until the refs pulled him off. As always, I like this aggression from Rusev. It sets up a rubber match between them that hopefully Rusev wins. He needs this win more than Sheamus because, echoing Cain’s sentiments, he’s not standing out at the moment. He feels like a man without a country (or nation) just looking for something meaningful to do.
- Remember when I asked for multiple El Grande Americanos? Don’t worry if you don’t, I definitely did. We’re one step closer to the dream becoming reality. During the very impressive Tag Team championship match between Judgment Day and the LWO, not one but two El Grande Americanos appeared. The first was obviously Ludwig Kaiser. The second? I’m not so sure but I’m positive a bunch of Cageside sleuths have guesses. The second masked man ensured Judgment Day walked out of Detroit with the championships around their waist. If it helps, he came out in a full track suit. Yeah, that doesn’t help at all. I’m sorry.
- Another week and I’m still not into GUNTHER and CM Punk. The champ cut a brief promo about how he out talked Punk last week. Punk came out and said “nah,” then cut an impassioned promo about needing the World Heavyweight championship to validate his Best in the World claim and reward the people who chanted his name for a decade. This is all sound and solid, but I want more than that from these two at one of WWE’s premiere events. As I said, nothing strikes me as wrong about what they’re doing, but it just feels solid. When I think about GUNTHER and CM Punk, “solid” is not a word that should come to mind.
- Lyra Valkyria had a rough go on the microphone this week. She stammered, misspoke, and looked a tad loss. If I didn’t say this before, I certainly thought it, but Lyra’s better on the mic when playing off someone. Becky Lynch brings the best out of her on the mic, while she always soars (no pun intended) when things get physical, talking isn’t her strength yet. She was on point when Becky tried a sneak attack, emphasis on tried. Lyra was wise to Becky’s tricks and dropkicked her while Becky stood ringside with a kendo stick in hand waiting to attack for...reasons. This was all about showing Lyra’s aggression and foreshadowing a side of her we might see at SummerSlam. Fine, but predictable.
- Speaking of these two, Bayley’s backstage interview was interesting. She talked about not being at WrestleMania, the opportunities she’s lost since, and not being at SummerSlam either. The Role Model is unhappy about it. So she’s totally interfering in a match at SummerSlam, right?
- Sami Zayn makes everything interesting. Karrion Kross interrupted Sami’s sit-down interview out of frustration. Karrion wants to prove Sami is no different than anyone else; that he’s just as foul as Karrion. Sami, obviously, disagrees. This philosophical battle has me very interested in this match. As Michael Cole said, something has to give. Sami wants to prove Karrion wrong and Karrion wants Sami to prove him right. Who gets the nod?
- Naomi teamed with Chelsea Green & the Secret Hervice to take on Rhea Ripley, Stephanie Vaquer, Nikki Bella, & IYO SKY. While the match put several women in a match who want Naomi’s championship, the champ escaped harm for the most part. She did the thing heel champs do and tried leaving the match late in the game, but IYO made sure that didn’t happen. And with Chelsea there, there was no need for Naomi to take the pin. Narratively, they’re making this more about Rhea and IYO than Naomi. Why do I say that? Because post match, Rhea and IYO celebrated their win by the former promising the latter that she’ll finally beat her at SummerSlam. IYO, of course, disagreed. I never like the champ seeming like the fifth wheel in a match like this unless it’s integral to the champ’s strategy. That’s not the case here.
A go home show that didn’t leave with much to write home about. Go figure. SummerSlam is in a few days and with few exceptions, it feels like a requirement rather than an inspired creative endeavor. This go home show didn’t spend a ton of time selling the matches. And when it did, it did so in unoriginal ways that felt more like coasting.
What say you, Cagesiders? Who is this other El Grande Americano?
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